Feeding apparatus for talking machines.



No; 884,963. 'A PATENTBD APR.14,190'8. L. P./VALIQUET.

FEEDING APPARATUS FR.TALKING MACHINES. APFLIOATION FILED @13.13. 1906.

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n .\u WI lo generally and inorespeciiically consists of an 1 errati sa .Louis PyA-LIQUET, `or NEWARK, New Jens amai einen EY, A SSGNUR, BY MESNE ASSlGNltiENTS, 'FO

OF PHl'LADEi'JPH, PENNSYL- vv FEEDING AP'B'ARATUS FOR TALKIN IVIIAfHIIlhTES.l

l To-all whom it mag/concern:

Be it known' that I, Louis P. VA-LIQUET, a citizen'of the United States of America,i and a resident of Newark, county of Essex, and y5 State 'of New Jersey, have inventedcertain `new and useful Improvements in Feeding Apparatus for Talking Machines, of which'` Ithe ffollowing is a specification. Y,

Myinvention relates to talking machines Improved positive feeding mechanism for use on machines employing disk records and reproducers mounted upon swinging or `ugliversal jointsfor use in connection withfsaidj disk records', i .f Heretofore it, has been customary to permit such disk records to themselves feed the v reproducer across the 'record bythe action ofithe spiral groove in which` the" sound recordis formed, andso dispense with positivefeeding :mechanism for reasons oli si1n` plicity and economy.` .l find7 hg'iwevcrthat such use of the vsound record as a ymeans for kfeeding lthercprodimcr is objectionable in 2,5 Sonie instances, particularly in cases where through -wearfor accident the intervening walls between `two adjacent sectionsfof the l, spiral 4become ln'okendown or cui'. across whicheauscs' the reproducingI needle toA juniplmck and continue rojmating'the sounds 4I ecorded in.l one length of said spiral and s'oonruin the record by aggravating the defect which iirst causes this action. AtV the .amc time, an, unyielding positive feeding A rnecluinisn'i ls not practical for machines of ythis type, as the records shrink and expand under diliem'vnces of temperature, so that the saine record. on dilcrcnt days would not correspond to anyflix'ed rate of 'feed for the re- 40 producer, and also bec-,ause'such disk records 'i 'are often mounted slightly eccentric tothe ,rotating table so that an unyiclding positive feed mechanism would cause the reproducing needle to jump from one section of 'the groove tomother-5` i. have invented a' feoding apparatus adapted for use on disk'record j mafhines which (n/er'cmhes allv these difficulties and is'simpie and easy ol' attachxnent to standard mechanism now in use.' The olbest form 'of apparat-'us embodyingjxny invention at present knmvn to me is illustrated in the accompanying two'slicets ol drawings Specification of Ifetters'Patent. Appnctipnmd April 1 3, iso's. serial No. 311,597.

*downwardly extending lug 2() Patented apen ia, ieee.

`Figure 1 isa side elevation ,of a talking nmchine with my inventionfapplied thereto, rparts of the casing beingxbroken away to show the internal mechanism. Fig, 2 is an enlarged detail sectional View taken on` line -2-2of'i*`ig. l.Y Fig. 3 is a detailshowing the manner in which 'the vsupporting rodi and 60 traversing arm su )port and grasp the .reproducer arm, and ig 4; is a detail side View of the cams operating the mechanism.,

Throughout the drawings, like reference iguresindicate like parts. l

. l 4represents an or inary talking machine casing rest-ing upon a stand 2, on whichis mounted an electric motor 3, which 4has `a worin 4 on its shaft meshing `withtl'ie worin gear :3 o n the vertical shaftf.

- 7 is a flexible shaft of any convenient conv struction communicating motion from short shaft b' to the couplings inside of the talk-ing, machine .ca-sing. l This coupling Slis'held in the larger coupling 9` bysetserews 10, 10. '75 The larger coupling QVteLinnates in a flange 1l! at its upperI portion, which isI forced againstlthe disk ,12 of felt orfother fibrous material'grasped between it and the ,flange 13 on the vorticaljshaft 14 of the-talking ma- 80 chine, This feit washer 12 is'spring,r pressed between the two ,flanges by means ol" the spring 15 which surrounds the shaft 14 and is confined betwedn the'washerfvl'on the lower'end thereo" `a" nd the [lange .11.

The table 17 a'ligl disk recor'd le carried thereby are rotated by the mechanism before described; ,y

To the horn 110, which ydurer carryingk arm',

serves as a repro'- j ipreferably lattach a ofv any lconvenient forni adapted to engage and be engaged' by-"theA horizfmtally extending su `porting rod21 beneath it, and the vibrating i traversing arm 22, which has a jaw 23 formed 95 "i-pr the purpose 1n its upper end.

A The suppjort'i'ng rod 21 is carried in the'lev'er 24, pivo'ted to the bed vplate 25 at 26, and having a sl'arpcam 27 formed on its under side, which; cooperates with the 28, mounted onshaft 29, w iieh is driven b f any'suitablc train of gearing 3() from sha t ,14.v `The traversing arm 22 is pivoted to the 'lug 31 depending from the bed )late 25, saidV pivot being` shown at 32. Ti

ljuick action cam 100 l j iis travfi'oc -ersing arm has a laterally extending lug 33 which is cut outto form the continuous camrace 34, as best shown in Fig. 2. The cam 35 also on shaft 29 cooperates with this cam race 34 and said cam race has a notch 36 into which the canrmay be introduced at the proper time for purposes hereinafter to be explained.

37 is a spiral spring connected to the bed plate or projection therefrom at one end and at the other end to the traversing arm 22, and tending to pull .the same in a direction to feed the sound box and stylus across the recordinia manner to reproduce the sounds recorded thereon.

38 is an adjustable set screw for limiting the motion 0f the traversing arm, and 39 y vis any convenient form of swinging or universal joint'on which the reproducer 4() is mounted, such reproducer having the stylus or reproducing needle 41 of the usual form.

Such beingthe construction of my invention, its operation is as follows: The motor being set in operation, its rotation will be transmitted to the table' 17 and record 18 carried thereby, any inequalities in its 'motion being taken up by .the friction slip-joint formed by the flanges 11 and 13, and the interposed disk offelit 12. The 'flexible shaft 7 will compensate for any inaccuracies of adjustment of the talking machine casing 1.

.As the driving. mechanism operates, it rotates cam shaft 29 with the result that the cam 28, which at rest is in the posi'tionshowi'i in full lines in Fig. '2, rotates in the direction of the hands of a-watch and soon permits the lever 24 and supporting bar 21 to drop down to the position rshown in dotted lines in Fig.V 2, thereby bringing 'the stylus 41 into engagement with the sound record 18. The same rotation of the shaft causcs the cam 35 to slowly traversethe cam race 34, said cam racehaving such a profile" as will permit the. traversing arm 22 to be slowly swung to the right by the'eontraction of the spring 37, and thereby yieldingly feed the stylus forward across the record by exerting yielding pressure thercon, the stylusbeingrestrained against too rapid movement by the record-groove- When the parts have reached the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2 and thtreproduction is completed, the cam 2S quickly rengages thc projection 27 on thc under side of the lever 24, uickly raises said lever and the supporting lbar 21 so as to discugage. the stylus fromv the sound record and at the same moment the cam entering the notch 3C) in the cam race 34 quickly throws the traversing arm 22 to the, left into the position shown in full lm es so as' to retract the reproducer and p bring it again over to the starting point.

The'retraction of the reproducer thus strains spring' so that it is restored to potential Ai j ...j reiation'in readiness to again feed the reprodritter Witliyielding pressure across the l'ably reduced.

Beasts record. The motor may be stopped at this point to change the record, or if it continues another reproduction of the same record will result.

The advantages of my invention include the provision of the reproducer resetting apparatus and a feeding device operating by yielding force which while sufficiently powerful to feed the reproducer independent of any feeding'action of the record, 1s still sufficiently flexible to permit the reproducer stylus to adjust itself to any slight inequali ties in the record due to expansion or shrinkage or ecccntricity. Also, the employment of the iexible driving shaft and friction slip joint, and the economical features of the construction shown. lt will be noticed that the feeding action constitutes no drain upon the power of the motor during the reproduction as it is produced by a spring in which the power is stored, as for instance, by the motor durinfT the resetting operation when of course littyc or no power is required to rotatethe sound record and there is available a surplus of power to be thus stored up and given out again during the reproduction of the `record. Thus, the addition of my apparatus to the present talking machines will not require the use of any more powerful motor than is now einployed in them.

A further ,and important advantage resulting from the use of the spring for feeding the reproducer across the record is due to the `fact that the spring holds the end of the stylus of the rcproduccr always in` contact with one wall of the record-groove, and a consequence of this the wear on the walls ofthe record'-groove due to the contact of the end of the stylus therewith is considerlt is evident of course that' various changes could be made in thc sha e and arrangement of the cam, cam racc, one. and any other details of my invention, without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, so long as the principle of operation above set forth is preserved.

Having, therefore, described my invention, l claim:

1. In a talking nmehine, the rombiimtiiui with a motor, of a reproducer mounted upon a swinging bearing, a carrier for said reproducer, mechanism positively connecting the motor to the carrier and acting to retract the reproduccr, and mechanism operated by a yielding connection independent of the motor for propelling said rcprodueer across they record.

2. In a talking machine having a motor for rotating the record,.the combination of a rcproducer mounted on a universal joint, a carrier therefor', positively operated cam mechanism connected to said carrier which retracts said reproduccr, and a spring inde,-

Y scenes l pendent of the motor lpropellingsaid carrier in a direction to4 feedV sai-d reproducen across-the record.

3. In a talking machine, the combination of a reproducer-mountediupon a swinging' positively opercom rising ai swingingfarm having a lug in wluc ra continuous cam race is cut, and a cam .carried by a shaft journaled in, fixed bearings and engaging said cam race.- l

4. A feeding and resetting 'mechanism foi` talking machines having loosely mounted reproducers comprising .in combination a horizontally extending vertically .movablensuo port-ing bar, means for raising and lowering said bar, a traversing arm adapted' to engage the'reproducer both when the supporting bar is raise-d and lowered, and means for reciprocating said arm synchronously with respect to the movements'of the supporting bar, saidv last-namedmeans including a spring independent of the motor of the machine for propellin 7 the reproduc-er across the record.

5. feeding and resetting mechanism for talking machines having loosely mounted reproducers comprising in combination a horizontally extending vertically movable supporting bar, means for raising and lowering said bar, a traversing arm adapted to/engage the reproducer both when.- the supporting bar is raised andlowered, and means for reciprocating said yarm synchronously with re spect to the movements of the supporting bar, said means comprising quick action cams which rapidly retract the traversing arm while the supporting bar is elevated, and a spring independent of the motor of the machine for propelling the reproducer across the record when the supporting bar is lowered. l

6. A` feeding and resettingmechanism for talking machines having loosely mounted reproducers comprising in combination a horizontally extending vertically porting bar, means for raising` and lowering said bar, a traversing arm adapted to engage the reproducer both when the supporting bar i.; raised and lowered, and means for reciprocating said arm synchronously Awith respect to the movements of the supporting bar, said first mentioned means comprising a quick action raising and lowering cam, and said last mentioned means comprising a quie'k action retracting and slow feeding cam mounted on the same shaft as the raising and lowering cam, Y

7. yIna disk record talking machine having a motor for rotating the disk, the combination witlr'the reproducer arm of @horizontally extending supporting har beneath the reproducer' a Y producer, and a to feed said re- L producer acrossthe record, said mechanism movable suprm, a pivotedflc'ver hy which is carr1ed,' a cam below theleverfshaped to quickly raise and drop the same, a horizon- 'tally traversing Iarm adapted to engage' said reproducer arm,a cainflug on said traversing and adapted to! arm, `a cam engaging 4said lug movevt-he arm in a direction yto retract therespring independent `of the motor normally Atending tomove the arm in f a direction to feed the :reproducer'aizi A ss the record. Y

8. ln a disk record talking machine having'v a motor for rotating 'the disk, thecombination with the reproducer arm 'of a horizonw tally extending ysupporting bar beneath the reproducer arm, a' pivote-lil lever `hy which itis.

carried, a cam below 'the lever'shaped to u horizon-w tallyV traversing-arm adapted to engagesai( .i reproducer'arm, a. cam lug'on said traversing` quickly raise and drop the'same,

arm, a cam en aging said lug and adapted to move the arm n adirection to retract the reproducer, and a spring independent oftthe motor normally tending to move the arm in a direction to feed the reproducer across the record, both said cams being mounted 0n the same shaft.

9. In a talking machine, the combination of-a holder for a disk sound record and means for rotating the saine and the record thereon, a sup ort, reproducing mechanism including al sty us carried thereby, pendent of the sound record and its driving device for yieh'lingly propelling said re )roducing mechanism in a plane suhstantlally parallel with the surface of the sound-record so that. the stylus thereof may track in and be restrained by the record-groove through out the several convolutions thereof.

10. In a talking machine, the combination of a holder for a disk sound record and means for rotating the same and the record thereon,

a su ort Yre roducin mechanism includin y g a sty iscarried thereby, and meansindependent of the sound record and its rotating means for' yieldingly propelling said reproducing mechanism across the sound record so that the stylus thereof'may track in and be restrained by the record-groove throughout the several con volutions' thereof, said means being so arranged that restoring said mechanism to its initial position restores said means to potential position.

11. 'lhe combination with a talking machine of the type in which the record-groove is spirally formed in a'disk adapted to rotate and means indein a horizontal. plane and the reproducer is carried by a device pivoted adjacent to said disk, of mechanism for rotating said disk, and moans independent of the sound-record and its. rotating mechanism for yieldingl propelling said device about its ivotal axis to carry the stylusof' the repro( ucer across' the record, said means being so arranged as to be restrained against excessive movement by said record'and as to be restored to its potential position in restoring said device to its initial ^osition.

' 12. The combination with a talking machine of the type in which the record-groove is spirally-formed in a rotatable disk and the n reprov ucer is carried by'a pivoted support,

ofA me hanism for rotating said disk, and means independent of the record-groove and the disk ,rotating mechanismior yieldingly propelling said support about its pivotal axis so that the stylus of the re reducer may track in the record-groove t roughout the several eonvolutions thereof, said stylus being restrained against Iexcessive movement by said record-groove. -Y

13. A sound-reproducing apparatus, comprising a rotating diskl lWhose operative surace lies in a sing e plane, said disk having a laterally undulating record-groove of substantially luni'orm depth formed therein,

mechanism for maintaining the horizontality of said disk and for rotating the same, a reproducing stylus, and means independent 'of the disk-rotatin f mechanism for yieldingly pressing andprope ling thesanie, while in cngagement with said record-groove, in reproducing direction and in a plane substantially arallel with the surface of said disk.

14, Ina talking machine, the combination with a motor, of a reproducer mounted upon a swinging bearing, a carrier for said reproducer, mechanism positively connecting the motor to the carrier and acting to retractthe reproducer, and mechanism operated by a yielding connection independent of the inotor, for propellingr said reproducer across the record in a plane'substantially parallel with the surface of said record so that the stylus thereof inay track in and be restrained' by the record groove throughout. the several convolutions thereof. y

Signed at New York, N. Y this 10th day of April 1.906.

LOUIS P. .VALIQUET Witnesses;

FRANK' OCoNNoa, M. G. CRAWFORD. 

